New pope an old pal to Levada / S.F. VISIT: Ratzinger 'happy as a clam,' archbishop recalls

Patricia Yollin, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published
4:00 am PDT, Thursday, April 21, 2005

ST. MARY'S CATHEDERAL, GEARY AND GOUGH STS.
"THE CATHEDRAL OF SAINT MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION"
MASS OF THE DEAD, FOR, HIS HOLINESS THE POPE.
Archbishop William J. Levada gave the sermon, wearing the same (vesper, I think) garment that the Pope wore when he came to San Francisco.
photo by: John O'Hara less

ST. MARY'S CATHEDERAL, GEARY AND GOUGH STS.
"THE CATHEDRAL OF SAINT MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION"
MASS OF THE DEAD, FOR, HIS HOLINESS THE POPE.
Archbishop William J. Levada gave the sermon, wearing the same ... more

Photo: John O'Hara

Photo: John O'Hara

Image
1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

ST. MARY'S CATHEDERAL, GEARY AND GOUGH STS.
"THE CATHEDRAL OF SAINT MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION"
MASS OF THE DEAD, FOR, HIS HOLINESS THE POPE.
Archbishop William J. Levada gave the sermon, wearing the same (vesper, I think) garment that the Pope wore when he came to San Francisco.
photo by: John O'Hara less

ST. MARY'S CATHEDERAL, GEARY AND GOUGH STS.
"THE CATHEDRAL OF SAINT MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION"
MASS OF THE DEAD, FOR, HIS HOLINESS THE POPE.
Archbishop William J. Levada gave the sermon, wearing the same ... more

Photo: John O'Hara

New pope an old pal to Levada / S.F. VISIT: Ratzinger 'happy as a clam,' archbishop recalls

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

The noon Mass was over and the vast interior of St. Mary's Cathedral was drenched in sunlight and stillness. San Francisco Archbishop William Levada descended from the altar and remembered the visit of a friend in 1999.

It was a Sunday in February, a good day for walking, Levada said. He and his friend drove down to California Street, hopped on a cable car and then strolled through Chinatown, which was all decked out for Lunar New Year. Later, they dropped by the Golden Gate Bridge.

"It was the usual tourist thing," Levada said Wednesday. "And he was just as happy as a clam."

On Tuesday, his friend, Joseph Ratzinger, became Pope Benedict XVI. For most of the world, the new pope is "largely an unknown figure," as Levada put it. But for the archbishop, the 265th head of the Roman Catholic Church is a man who's been part of his life since 1981.

Ratzinger had been appointed prefect at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that enforces church doctrine. Levada was already working there.

"He was my boss, you might say," Levada said in an interview with The Chronicle. "There were 40 of us in that congregation. It was quite an eye- opener: the cordial -- I don't know if democratic is the word you'd use for the Vatican -- way he treated everybody as equals."

In 1986, Ratzinger and Levada were part of a team developing a new catechism for the church. Sixteen years later, Levada was elevated to bishop- member of the doctrinal watchdog group that his friend was still overseeing.

What will the papal connection mean for Levada?

"I suspect his calls will be answered in the Apostolic Palace," said John Allen, the National Catholic Reporter's Vatican analyst, in an interview with The Chronicle in Rome. "But I don't know if it means he'll get some plum assignment in six months."

Levada is pragmatic.

"I think it means that on those occasions when I have an opportunity to see him, that he knows me," Levada said. "Or if he has a special project that he wants advice about. Or if he wants somebody to do something and he knows who I am and what I can do, he might say, 'Well, why don't you get on this committee or do this?' "

Although the "Cardinal Levada" rumors are already percolating, the 68- year-old archbishop joked that he hasn't packed his bags yet.

"I don't have any expectations," he said. "But this is the first man who became pope that I knew personally, so it is likely to be a wonderful opportunity when we get together to visit."

"I think that's a part of the job," he said. "I think this pope will also give access. But it would be fair to say that I wouldn't hesitate to go to him if I thought there would be something useful for him to hear from me."

There's also the question of what the new papacy portends for a city like San Francisco, a venue for many of the things that Pope Benedict XVI opposes, including feminism, homosexuality, abortion rights and stem cell research.

"When they're pope of the whole world, they may have some specific issues that need attention, but I don't know that San Francisco would be singled out in any way," Levada said. "It (the city) is not unique. It's a factor of urban life vs. rural life. The Catholic Church grew up in rural Europe over the centuries. The urban phenomenon is fairly new."

Levada said high-speed communications create the illusion that everything in life is instantaneous.

"But issues of faith are not the issues that are dealt with effectively on an instantaneous basis," he said. "There needs to be mature reflection, prayer, all of those things that kind of go against the modern grain."

Levada said the last time he saw Ratzinger was in January in Rome. He said he didn't want to bother the Bavarian cardinal at the papal funeral, figuring that he might be pretty busy.

The man Levada views as shy, gentle and gracious is also seen as a bullheaded guardian of Catholic tradition.

"There's no doubt in my mind that he's clear and will speak what he believes has been the truth handed down from the time of Christ," Levada said. "But I have never seen him do so in a hostile or angry way. Part of it is the sound-bite perception that the media has."

Levada said people who know the new pope invariably regard him as balanced, fair, cordial and capable.

"That's probably what's mainly behind his election, apart from the fact that the Holy Spirit is the great elector," Levada said.

There is also the matter of charisma -- something the past pope was blessed with and the new pope might or might not possess.

"For a person whose temperament is more reserved, it is more difficult to come across effectively in large-scale situations and in the media," Levada said. "If I were his (Benedict's) media handler, I'd say that's going to be the challenge."

Earlier Wednesday, speaking to the media, Levada said that "Christian unity" and "bonding the unity of bishops" will be major tasks for the 78-year- old pope -- whose promotion wasn't something the archbishop expected.